Slack-adjuster.



W. H. SAUVAGE.

SLACK ADJUSTER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-25.1916- I mw w ms Patented May 29, 1917.

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WILLIAM H. SA'UVAGE, OF FLUSHING, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GOULD COUPLER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SLACK-ADJUSTER.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that LWVILLIAM H. SAUVAGE,

citizen of the United States, and resident of Flushing, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Slack-Adjusters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to slack adjusters and in its more intense aspect to automatic slack adjusters particularly adapted for use on trucks of railway cars.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an automatic slack adjuster which will be simple and practical in construction and reliable and efficient in use and'operation. i further object is to provide a slack adjuster of the above general character particularly adapted for use on trucks of the outside hung brake beam type having relatively few parts which will be cheap to manufacture and install. A further object is to provide mechanism of the first above mentioned character which may be applied to brake rigging now in general use without material modifications for the purpose of insuring uniform piston travel at all times.

Other objects will be in part obvious from the annexed drawings and in part indicated in connection therewith by the following analysis of this invention.

This invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of parts and in the unique relations of the members and in the relative proportioning and disposition thereof; all as more completely outlined herein.

To enable others skilled in the art so fully to comprehend the underlying features thereof that they may embody the same by the numerous modifications in structure and relation contemplated by this invention, drawings depicting a preferred form have been annexed as a part of this disclosure, and in such drawings, like characters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout all the views, of which Figure 1 is a side elevational View partly in section of such parts of a truck and associated brake rigging as are necessary to understand one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a modified construction.

Referring to the drawings in detail and Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 29, 1217.

Application filed January 25, 1916. Serial No. 74,184.

more particularly to Fig. 1, 5 denotes a truck bolster connecting side frames 6 in which are mounted wheels 7. At one side of the bolster is a bracket 8 adapted to support the upper end of a dead lever 10, th lower end of which is connected at 11 to the larger part 12 of a two-part telescopic pull bar. The inner telescopic member 13 is pivotally connected at M to the lower end of live lever 15, the upper end-of the live lever being connected at 16 to one end of pull rod 17, the opposite end of which rod is connected with a brake actuating mechanism, not shown.

Both the live and dead levers have associated therewith struts 18 and brake beams 20 provided with the brake shoe heads 21 adapted to coact with the peripheries of the associated wheels 7 in a manner characteristic to outside hung brakes. This mecha nism with the exception of the telescopic pull rod is all of well known construction and operates in the usual manner.

In order to take up the slack as wear of the parts occurs, there is associated with the twopart telescopic member an adjusting rod 23 which is pivotally connected to the live lever 15 at the point 2% where said lever is connected with its strut and its opposite end passes through lugs 25 and 26 preferably cast integral with the member 12 and has positioned therebetween a yielding frictional clamp device 27 of somewhat U- shaped construction adapted to grip the rod 23 and being of less width than the distance between the lugs 25 and 26 thereby constituting a temporary take up mechanism. One or more washers 28 may also be interposed between the lugs in order to regulate this distance or vary the brake shoe clearance. This difference in width of the clamp 27 and the space between the lugs 25 and 26 is adapted I to provide a certain lost motion which will insure uniform brake shoe clearance at all times.

Associated with the point 24: is a return spring 30 of substantially U-shaped construction having its upper ends 31 connected by a bolt or the like and bearing against the side edge of the live lever 15. Its lower part 32 engages the under side of the strut 18 while its intermediate side portions are coiled one or more times about the pivot 2%. This return spring is adapted to maintain a certain predetermined angular relationship between the strut 18 and the live lever 15 and when this angular relation is changed as during the application of the brakes a localized twisting or turning action about the pivot 24 will occur to change this angular relation and to place this spring under tension which will react to restore the parts to normal position when the brakes are released.

Coacting between the effective ends of the parts 12 and 13 of the telescopic pull rod is a permanent take up device including a plurality of substantially rectangular dogs 33 having holes through which the rod 13 passes. These dogs are normally held in canted position by a spring 34 whereby they are adapted to occupy a biting engagement with and positively clutch the member 13 at all times and resist an outward relative movement of the telescoping parts. Suitable release mechanism not shown may also be applied to the housing 35 containing the dogs and spring, as shown in my co-pending application Serial Number 74,176, filed January 25, 1916, for the purpose of moving the dogs to a position normal of the axis-of the rod 13 in order that the telescopic parts may be returned to their original position as when replacing the worn brake shoes.

This mechanism operates in substantially the following manner: On application of the brakes the pull rod 17 moves toward the right and reacts through the live lever 13, telescopic pull rod and dead lever 10 to bring the brake shoes relatively toward each other and into engagement with the peripheries of their respective wheels. During this movement the lost motion is first taken up by the clamp 27 moving toward the right into engagement with the stop lug 26. If excess travel takes place, there will be a relative sliding movement of the yielding frictional clamp 27 along the rod 23 toward the left, and on return of the parts to normal position under the action of the spring 30, when the braking power is released, this clamp 27 will engage the stop 25 after allowing the brake shoes to drop clear of the wheels at which time further movement is prevented and the point 24 becomes relatively fixed to cause an inward telescopic movement of the part 13 with respect to the part 12 until the live lever has returned to its fullnormal position.

In Fig. 2, there is shown substantially the same mechanism, except that the adjusting rod 23 is connected directly withthe live and dead levers and the lost motion device comprises a casting 36 pivotally supported from the point 24: and provided with lugs 37 and 38 through which the rod 23 is adapted to pass. A yielding frictional clamp a0 engages the rod between the lugs while a washer 4-1 is interposed between one side of the clamp and one of the lugs in order to properly regulate the desired lost motion and brake shoe clearance.

The operation of this device is substan tially the same as that above described and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary.

From the above, it will be seen that the present invention is'directed to two of several possible modifications of automatic slack adjusters, particularly adapted for outside hung brake rigging.

The mechanism is simple, practical and compact in construction and is reliable and efiicient in use and operation. In short, the present invention accomplishes, among others, all of the objects and advantages herein set forth.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of this invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting certain features that, from the standpoint of the prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and therefore such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a slack adjuster, in combination with a truck having outside hung brake beams, a live lever, a dead lever, a telescopic member connecting said levers near their lower ends, permanent take up and holding means coacting between the effective ends of the parts of said telescopic member, and an adjusting rod connected with one of the levers at one end and having a yielding frictional lost motion clamp device at its other end, connected with one of said first mentioned parts.

2. In a slack adjuster, in combination with a truck having outside hung brake beams, a live lever and a dead lever adjacent said beams, a telescopic member connecting the lower ends of said levers, a positive clutch device operating between the effective ends of said telescopic member, an adjusting rod pivotally connected with one of the levers at one end and passing through a pair of lugs on said member at its opposite end and having a yielding frictional clamp device operating between said lugs adapted to temporarily take up the excess travel of the brake rigging until taken up by said positive clutch device, and being so positioned and arranged as to insure predetermined brake shoe clearance at all times. i

3. In a slack adjuster, in combination with a truck having outside hung brake beams, a live lever supported from one of the brake beams near its central part, a dead lever at the opposite side of the truck pivotally supported from a relatively fixed member, a two-part telescopic pull rod connecting the lower ends of said levers, permanent take .up and holding mechanism operating between the effective ends of the parts of said pull rod, and an adjusting rod pivotally connected with said levers adjacent their points of connections with the brake beams and having a lost motion device at one end, and temporary take up and holding mechanism adapted to operate upon said permanent take up and holding mechanism on release of the brakes if excess travel has taken place.

l. In a slack adjuster, in combination with a truck having outside hung brake beams, a live lever supported from one of the brake beams near its central part, a dead lever at the opposite side of the truck pivotally supported from a relatively fixed member, a two-part telescopic pull rod connecting the lower ends of said levers, permanent take up and holding mechanism operating between the effective ends of the parts of said pull rod, an adjusting rod pivotally connected with said levers adjacent their point of con neetions with the brake beams, having a lost motion device at one end, temporary take up and holding mechanism adapted to operate upon said permanent take up and holding mechanism on release of the brakes if excess travel has taken place, and a return spring associated with the live lever adjacent its point of connection with its brake beam.

In a slack adj uster,in combination with a truck having outside hung brake beams, a live lever, a dead lever, a telescopic pull rod connecting said levers, permanent take up and holding means operating between the ellective ends of said telescopic pull rod, an adjusting rod adapted to temporarily take up and hold the excess slack and actuate the permanent take up mechanism on release of the brakes, and a return spring associated with the live lever and its brake beam adapted to return the parts to normal position.

6'. In a slack adjuster, in combination with a truck having outside hung brake beams, a live lever and a dead lever adjacent and connected with said beams, a pull rod connecting said levers having permanent take up and holding means associated therewith, an adjusting rod connected at one end to the live lever and with said pull rod at its other end, and means permitting variable lost motion for brake shoe clearance at one of said points of connection.

7. In a slack adjuster, in combination with a truck having outside hung brake beams, a live lever and a dead lever adjacent and connected with said beams, a pull rod connecting said levers having permanent take up and holding means associated therewith, an adjusting rod connected at one end to the live lever and with said pull rod at its other end, means permitting variable lost motion for brake shoe clearance at one of said points of connection, said means including a yielding friction clamp gripping said adjusting rod and positioned between relatively fixed supporting parts on the pull rod at its point of support, and means adapted to be interposed between said friction clamp and one of said supporting parts to vary the lost motion.

8. In a slack adjuster, in combination with a truck having outside hung brake beams, liveand dead levers associated with said beams, temporary and permanent take up and holding devices connectin said live and dead levers, and a substantially U-shaped return spring associated with one of said levers and its brake beam adapted to restore the parts to normal position.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 16th day of December, A. D. 1915.

WILLIAM H. SAUVAGE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

